1. Field of the Invention
The Invention relates to storage tracking and specifically for tracking data storage cartridges which have been provided with labels containing identifying RFID tags.
2. Background of the Invention
Financial institutions, such as J.P. Morgan Chase, store client and related information on individual storage tapes cartridges. An example of such a cartridge is an IBM 3592, part number 23R9830.
The cartridges are stored in individual storage libraries. Each library is essentially a room having storage racks, each rack having an array of individual bins. The racks line one or more walls in rectangular rooms or extend around the single wall in cylindrical rooms. Each library can store thousands of cartridges and an institution can have tens of libraries in a single location.
The cartridges are individually slid into each bin so that a rear edge is visually accessible for identification purposes.
To identify each tape, the rear edge has a label 10, such as illustrated in FIG. 1, which contains a human readable portion 12 and a matching barcode portion 14. The human readable portion 12 includes eight text boxes which are positioned adjacent to each other along the length of the label 10. The text boxes are positioned widthwise adjacent to corresponding barcode digits and quiet zones 16, 18 disposed at opposing lengthwise ends of the barcode digits and which contain no information.
In FIG. 1, the text box 12 includes the following information: “LTO-005” (hyphen added) and “L3”. The data “LTO005” represents the volume serial number (VolSer) and is typically 6 characters in length. This is usually a unique string within an organization that identifies the tape. The “L3” represents media identifier. In this example the ‘L’ represents the technology, in this case LTO, and the ‘3’ represents the generation. Other known types include DLT, AIT, SAIT, 3592, 9840/9940, T10K just to name a few.
The base, starting number, increment value, and increment direction (increment as compared to decrement) are all modifiable variables. The use of six characters for the “LTO005” text grouping is also modifiable. For example, the label could have been assigned with five characters, and would have read “LTO05”. In this case, as an example, it is “LTO005” but it can be anything within the “Code 39 Barcode Character Set” standard.
In libraries, not illustrated, individual robot arms contain scanners capable of reading each barcode. Accordingly, when directed, robots are capable of finding and retrieving a specific cartridge. Each library has “cartridge decks”. Cartridge decks are readers/writers in which the retrieved cartridges are placed by the robot. The robot also removes cartridges from the cartridge decks and replaces the cartridges back in the storage bins.
Cartridges, individually or in batches, as provided in a predetermine manifest, are regularly removed from or added to individual libraries by employees. Tracking of the cartridges can be performed by having the employee sign a form or editing a database on a computer. The employee reads the human readable portion of the label and inserts the information in a predetermined location. Such tracking is time consuming and may become incomplete due to human error. For example, the employee could improperly transcribe the identifiers or can forget to update forms or databases. Accordingly, a more efficient means for tracking the cartridges is necessary.